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The St. Louis Rams are a mess this season. They are easily the worst team, in the worst division, in the NFL. Whatever could go wrong with the Rams has gone wrong this season. Whether that's losing their best players to injury, coaching mistakes, or just bad play, Rams fans have seen all that and more this season.

Coming off a promising 7-9 season last year, what's happening in 2011 has everyone calling for the front office's collective heads. That's understandable; everyone has been questioning coach Steve Spagnuolo since last season.

What surprised me is when everyone started talking about firing Billy Devaney. I thought it would blow over after a while, but it's gotten worse with each passing week. Was he really worse than who has been in charge of acquiring talent in the past? I don't think so.

So following the jump, let's talk some Billy Devaney.

What Devaney was given when he became the Rams GM:

Billy Devaney was promoted to GM of the Rams following their 2008 season. He was originally hired in February 2008 to help the Rams draft players that season.

Most of the time when a GM inherits a team, there is a good chance that they have some good players or at least some good depth on the roster. Unfortunately, while the Rams did have a handful of solid players, a majority of the players were either old or didn't perform up to their contracts: See - Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael.

Nine of the players on the current St. Louis Rams roster have been here since Devaney was first hired. Believe me, he didn't cut those players because he wanted them to stay; he had to have something on which to build a team. Did anyone think that it would be easy or quick?

It's unfair to count the 2009 season. In 2009, it was more about breaking down the roster for Devaney and releasing players that struggled or under performed. (Go have a look at how many of the current 53-man roster were on the team in 2008)

The staff that Billy helped put together:

Billy's first hire as Rams GM was Steve Spagnuolo. Say what you want about Steve, but he and his defensive coordinator Ken Flajole have made the Rams average defenders look pretty good - but that's a story for another day. Pat Shurmur was also brought in, and did well enough to become a NFL head coach for the Browns two years later.

He also tried to solve the Rams injury problem by allowing Steve Spagnuolo to fire key members of the training staff as well as getting the team to stop changing the turf every season.

Devaney helped the Rams become more structured. He hired more scouts than the team had previously. He also hired Mike Williams as the vice president of player personnel, a position the Rams haven't had since the year 2000.

He hired Kevin Demoff to help with contracts and salary cap planning.

He hired a solid group of professionals who will help the Rams make it to the next level. This is the type of structure that the Rams needed and something they hadn't had in years.

These draft charts weren't made to talk about players who start, but to talk about the players who are still on their drafted team. As you can see it's hard to consistently hit on players drafted on the third day of the draft.

It's evident the Rams need to start drafting players who have a chance to provide depth, also letting some of the players develop for longer than a year would help too.

Also, it would be easy to say the Rams should have drafted one player over another, or that they had easy choices to make because they picked high in the draft the last few years. I disagree. How many players in 2009 could the Rams have picked over Jason Smith that are doing well in the league now? Consider too, that the Rams could have missed on James Laurinaitis and picked Ray Maualuga. How many of you wanted Aaron Curry? So while the Rams might miss on "Day Three" guys, they hit on some good players too. The role of the coaching staff is critical with the late-round players, and Spagnuolo has control over who stays on the roster.

Players brought in by Billy Devaney:

Let's not try and make it sound like the draft is the only place to improve a football team. The Rams have picked up a few solid players in free agency and trades that have multiple year contracts. He aquired Justin Bannan, Brandon Gibson, Brandon Lloyd, Danny Amendola, Harvey Dahl, Quintin Mikell, Mark Clayton, Jason Brown and brought back Ron Bartell.

These players aren't superstars, but if you remove 20/20 hindsight, anyone would have to say they are solid players. OK, Jason Brown was supposed to be a great center, but when all is said and done, taking on a player based on their past performance for another team is a gamble at best.. Some of Billy's moves have proven themselves, with Quintin Mikell filling the void left by O.J. Atogwe when he signed with the Redskins, and Harvey Dahl is a good guard. These players didn't come to the Rams cheap, so it shows that Devaney will overpay a little for players who hopefully can become good starters.

He also brought in Danario Alexander, Josh Gordy, Brit Miller and Darian Stewart. These four players could have a future with the team despite being undrafted.

Questions people ask regarding Billy:Where are the playmakers?

The ugly truth is that the Rams haven't had a chance to get those players, for various reasons. Teams just don't give playmakers away. This isn't Madden, it's the NFL. Then there is the possibility that the St. Louis Rams aren't an attractive destination for free agents. The only hope the Rams really have is overpaying, or just signing mid-level talent.

That's not to say that Billy hasn't tried. Last season, the Rams tried to trade for Vincent Jackson, but it was said that the Chargers wanted a better offer than the Rams could muster.

The Rams needing to build a foundation without missing or overpaying for players is an unfair standard to hold over anyone.

Let's not act like the pickings weren't slim either. There were afew playmakers in the past 3 drafts, but how many of them are doing consistently well now? The Rams finally have a solid foundation on this team, so they can begin to take chances and get playmakers.

The 4 Pillars are a joke, what's the point of following them?

It's a reason why the Rams avoided players like Brandon Marshall and Desean Jackson. They may be great players, but they can also cause great headaches and help divide the locker room.

The Rams should be able to add a couple of players who don't follow all of the 4 pillars next season, but adding those in the past would have harmed a rebuilding team. Really though: What's so bad about wanting players who have faith, character, core values, and put the team first?

How come the Rams don't have a young back up running back?

Having Steven Jackson gave the Rams some flexibility, now that he may be entering his final season with the Rams, they have to find another running back as a backup or potential replacement.

Why do the Rams give up on their lower drafted players so quickly?

I wish I knew. Some of the players could have been good depth players down the line. Players like Jabara Williams, Georgie Selvie, and everyone's favorite quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, could have helped the Rams down the line. The players the Rams drafted, and then cut aren't lighting up the league, but if they are good enough for other teams rosters, they should be good enough for the Rams.

What has Billy done this season?

Well even though this season has went down hill, he gave the Rams what should have been solid players. Mike Sims-Walker, Ben Leber, Zac Diles, and others haven't panned out. Maybe if the Rams had a whole offseason the free agents would have had more time to get used to their new system and the team around them.

Billy also put together a solid draft. The players selected in the first 4 rounds should be Rams for a while, and they all have shown flashes of at least becoming solid players.

It should also be mentioned that when Josh McDaniel's became offensive coordinator, Billy drafted players that Josh wanted in his offense. He also ended up trading for Brandon Lloyd, who Josh most likely vouched for and I'm sure Sam Bradford isn't complaining about the aquisition.

He did all that, but the Rams have regressed this season:

Honestly, it's easy to say that the Rams regressed this year, but it's not like the Rams were a great team last season. They went 7-9 against a weaker schedule than the one they are playing this season. The Rams didn't have the talent to beat good teams last year, so it's not a huge surprise that they didn't do it this season.

With all that said, Devaney gave the team a good enough roster to compete, before they were hit with a lot of injuries. The Rams lost 10 corner backs and all three of their runningbacks have been injured. Their franchise QB missed a couple of games. The Rams lost two good slot wide receivers. Both of their young struggling offensive tackles are out for the season. You have to admit that's a lot to overcome, especially for a team lacking a lot of depth.

Evaluating Billy Devaney:

Honestly - you have to be fair about this situation. When Devaney became the GM, all he had was "a dollar and a dream." I didn't write this to say that he has been perfect. I'm sure there are a couple of players in free agency and the draft that he could have chosen.

My point is to say, that no matter who "coulda - shoulda" been the GM instead of Billy Devaney - it would be hard to say that they would have done much better. You don't have to agree that he's been a good GM, but he at least deserves one more season to finish what he and Steve Spagnuolo started. If he and the other staff members haven't improved the team next year over this disgraceful season, then call for his head.

So let's be frustrated as fans; we have every right to given the state of this team and they don't deserve sympathy. We also should remind ourselves that it's not easy to build a team up from nothing. Bringing back Devaney and his crew next season, might feel like getting your teeth pulled, but the end result could be better than a fat kid eating cake.

Attempting to unlock mysteries of the universe

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You cannot develop players by just throwing them all into games before they are ready. It's the same with any sport. When we have injuries we have to get players able to play the young guys we want to develop usually get replaced. It sucks, but it's the game.

Hall of Fame

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You cannot develop players by just throwing them all into games before they are ready. It's the same with any sport. When we have injuries we have to get players able to play the young guys we want to develop usually get replaced. It sucks, but it's the game.

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I disagree. I feel you can though players in the fire, discipline their mistakes, praise their success and coach/learn them up to do better the following weak.

I think you can't develop players who jump system to system, team to team, and so forth because they are constantly getting cut for vets who are not even playing.

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I agree with this. The difference between the young, raw late round picks and the veterans we kept is we know exactly what we have in the veterans. Could Jabara Williams never be heard from again and leave the NFL in a couple years? Sure, but he could also turn into a decent starter.

The OG RODfather

Moderator

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I think the tools has been given to the staff....just have not been used properly

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In your opinion. For the record, that's my opinion as well, but there's no way either of us have 1/10th the experience in evaluating talent (especially defensive talent) on a level even remotely close to the NFL. Unquestionably we don't have more experience than Spags/Flajole in that regard either.

We have no idea how these guys were coming along. Everybody thought Gilyard should have been given more time, but it's obvious now that he just can't get it done at this level. Some guys make the transition, and some don't. We can't use preseason eyeballs and past stats to measure how a guy fits in a different system. I'm willing to give the professionals the benefit of the doubt, even if I don't agree with how they're evaluating players. It's like walking into NASA and saying, "Really? Electric thrust regulators? I wouldn't use those. Wile E. Coyote uses giant rubber bands and ends up right on the moon every time."

Starter

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I think the tools has been given to the staff....just have not been used properly

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In your opinion. For the record, that's my opinion as well, but there's no way either of us have 1/10th the experience in evaluating talent (especially defensive talent) on a level even remotely close to the NFL. Unquestionably we don't have more experience than Spags/Flajole in that regard either.

We have no idea how these guys were coming along. Everybody thought Gilyard should have been given more time, but it's obvious now that he just can't get it done at this level. Some guys make the transition, and some don't. We can't use preseason eyeballs and past stats to measure how a guy fits in a different system. I'm willing to give the professionals the benefit of the doubt, even if I don't agree with how they're evaluating players. It's like walking into NASA and saying, "Really? Electric thrust regulators? I wouldn't use those. Wile E. Coyote uses giant rubber bands and ends up right on the moon every time."

Attempting to unlock mysteries of the universe

ExpandCollapse

You cannot develop players by just throwing them all into games before they are ready. It's the same with any sport. When we have injuries we have to get players able to play the young guys we want to develop usually get replaced. It sucks, but it's the game.

Click to expand...

I disagree. I feel you can throw players in the fire, discipline their mistakes, praise their success and coach/learn them up to do better the following week.

I think you can't develop players who jump system to system, team to team, and so forth because they are constantly getting cut for vets who are not even playing.

Click to expand...

Some players can handle this, most cannot. You see it a lot more in other sports than you do with football, other than with QB's, but that doesn't make it less true. Football, like all sports, is more than what you just do with the ball, when you throw guys into the fire before they're ready often times they're lost by the speed of the game (especially rookies) trying to do too many things at once, and they become more than a liability.

Some players like Bradford can handle it more and learn on the go. But that is part of why he was a first overall pick. Later round picks you can't expect to start right away, and if you do often times you just crush a players development. Like I said you see it more in other sports like baseball and hockey who have minor leagues with affiliates to major teams so franchises have prospect farms to develop players. Football the closest thing to this is the practice squad, and only activating 45 of the 53 members, but it's not much different. You try to develop the players while they're young and raw and keep them out of games.

Hall of Fame

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Billy's biggest failure is the OL. That is the place he has put resources and it didn't work.

Other than that he has done a good job.

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So how much of the blame can really be put on him for that? Aside from some people not liking the Smith pick, I dont think many people had any problem with the other players he brought in. I really liked the FA signings. Saffold is having a down year but hes still capable of being a good starter. Id say its more of a coaching issue.

Hall of Fame

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I would like to keep him. I find him comical and like his sense of humor.

I do not agree with all his picks. He wasted some that he shouldn't have and he doesn't seem to look to future drafts when he makes his picks. He loses sight at times of not only the needs now but next couple seasons needs.
But overall he;s done a fair job. But it's hard to evaluate a GM when he doesn't have say over the final 53 man roster. I would like to know what he would have done different on cut down day.

I disagree with this article's concept of comparing teams. It's not fair or a basis guideline. The Pats and Steelers esp. The Rams have starters even before the IR Armageddon that wouldn't make those teams 53 man roster. It's a apple and oranges argument.

Starter

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Billy's biggest failure is the OL. That is the place he has put resources and it didn't work.

Other than that he has done a good job.

Click to expand...

So how much of the blame can really be put on him for that? Aside from some people not liking the Smith pick, I dont think many people had any problem with the other players he brought in. I really liked the FA signings. Saffold is having a down year but hes still capable of being a good starter. Id say its more of a coaching issue.

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None of the players (Perhaps an exception of Dahl) has played well this year.

Saffold gave up like 11 sacks, Brown benched, Smith underwhelming.

Time will tell, but I think our OL coach is probably responsible somewhat.

Guest

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Billy's biggest failure is the OL. That is the place he has put resources and it didn't work.

Other than that he has done a good job.

Click to expand...

So how much of the blame can really be put on him for that? Aside from some people not liking the Smith pick, I dont think many people had any problem with the other players he brought in. I really liked the FA signings. Saffold is having a down year but hes still capable of being a good starter. Id say its more of a coaching issue.

Click to expand...

None of the players (Perhaps an exception of Dahl) has played well this year.

Saffold gave up like 11 sacks, Brown benched, Smith underwhelming.

Time will tell, but I think our OL coach is probably responsible somewhat.

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I think it's the coordinator.

There's a couple of things to consider.

1. Everyone on the OL played better before. They had the same line coach last year.

2. No one on offense, in the passing game, is playing well or at least they had long streaks where they weren't--that includes the TEs, the WRs (with the exception of Lloyd), and the qb.

3. McD is not used to working with a young offense.

They looked to me like a team that didn't have it together, were out of sync, pressing, and stressed. Hence all the mistakes and botched plays.

Grill and Brew Master

Moderator

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They looked to me like a team that didn't have it together, were out of sync, pressing, and stressed. Hence all the mistakes and botched plays.

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IMO much of that can be attributed to having to play with different personnel each week and no off season to learn a completely new system. I'm not going to try and act like an expert on offensive systems but the Rams didn't just change OCs, they completely changed systems. I think it is going to take some time and some healthy bodies to learn this system.

They definitely have looked out of sync all season. I would just like to see if that changes by having the players get used to each other and this new system through a normal off season.

I'm not sure though that Loney gets a pass here. Yeah he was the line coach last year and the line played better-ish. But not only did the line play most of the season together but the offense was based largely on short quick pass plays. Last year's line couldn't run block any better than what we are seeing now. And Smith has definitely taken a step backward. Either that or defenders have just figured out how bad his footwork truly is. Brown has taken a step backward. They bring in Dahl and THAT didn't seem to help much. So.... That brings us back to the question of just WHAT incriminating photos does Loney have? :what:

So Long #91...

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Time will tell, but I think our OL coach is probably responsible somewhat.

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I've got to agree with that assessment. Loney took over as O-line coach in '08. That season they rendered 38 sacks. '09 the line gave up 44 sacks to three different QBs (as I'm sure you remember, Bulger and Boller were lost to injury, leaving the QB position Null and Void). And last year, Bradford's rookie year there were another 34 sacks dished out.

Not exactly a stellar looking resume for a line coach. I suppose the bright side is they did managed to put up over 1,500 yards rushing each year of Loney's tenure.

He probably deserves another season to prove his salt though, there've been a lot of changes on the line the past couple of years.

Hall of Fame

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Time will tell, but I think our OL coach is probably responsible somewhat.

Click to expand...

I've got to agree with that assessment. Loney took over as O-line coach in '08. That season they rendered 38 sacks. '09 the line gave up 44 sacks to three different QBs (as I'm sure you remember, Bulger and Boller were lost to injury, leaving the QB position Null and Void). And last year, Bradford's rookie year there were another 34 sacks dished out.

Not exactly a stellar looking resume for a line coach. I suppose the bright side is they did managed to put up over 1,500 yards rushing each year of Loney's tenure.

He probably deserves another season to prove his salt though, there've been a lot of changes on the line the past couple of years.

The OG RODfather

Moderator

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Just give Spags and Billy one more year if they screw up next year via the draft or record then completely clean house I think a full off season for Sam and Josh would make a big difference.

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I don't know how anybody could ask for more of this. I honestly don't.

Thankfully, it won't happen. Devaney and Spags have a well earned firing coming. It's too bad it became a debacle rather than a success, but it did and now things have to change.

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I think some people just want to see what two of the better coordinators can do with a regular off-season, less injuries, and a little more talent. I don't think anybody is hoping for more of the same. THAT would be stupid. I, personally, would like to see what they can do without all the other "stuff" that has gone down this season. Admittedly I'm not completely sold on McDaniels being able to rise above, but he's had some success before with good players. So, gimme some more good players.

However, if it doesn't go that way, it doesn't go that way. I can honestly say that these guys haven't been dealt the best of hands these past few years. And I don't see how anyone can say otherwise.

UDFA

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Billy's biggest failure is the OL. That is the place he has put resources and it didn't work.

Other than that he has done a good job.

Click to expand...

So how much of the blame can really be put on him for that? Aside from some people not liking the Smith pick, I dont think many people had any problem with the other players he brought in. I really liked the FA signings. Saffold is having a down year but hes still capable of being a good starter. Id say its more of a coaching issue.

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I think you can put all the blame on him for that actually. He is the guy who made building the lines his focus and he's made one bad decision after another and made huge investments that have failed and will continue to hurt the team for a while.

There were a lot of people who didn't like the Smith pick, thought he way overspent for Bell and Brown and had better options, didn't think Saffold was the right move.

I think the better question is, what has Devaney done right? The Bradford pick looks HIGHLY suspect at this point, and I'd say that pick is as responsible as any for what's going to happen to both Devaney and Spags now. The entire plan was invest massively into the O-line and that franchise QB and years like 2007, 2008 and 2009 would fade into the past forever, never to be revisited. Yet, after that all was done, here we are again, perhaps worse than it's ever been.

They have failed to get a decent backup RB in here for 3 years now. They have not found good DT's or LB's that can fix the defense against the run problem that has plagued the team for more than 3 years now.

It has all been an unmitigated disaster. I never thought this team could actually get worse than it was, but here we are 3 years later and this is the darkest time in history for the Rams. It's hard to believe there is anybody left actually defending this at this point.

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